


In the middle

by misbehavin



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bisexual Characters, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 02:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19347868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misbehavin/pseuds/misbehavin
Summary: She kisses Barry goodnight and sighs at the thought of it all. Apparently, they’re happily married and now simultaneously crushing on their best friend.





	In the middle

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! So, this has been sitting untouched in my drafts for a while and I decided it was best I post it already and figure out the rest later. I really really love this trio and I want other people to yell abt it with me so here we are! Please do tell if you like this <3

An idea pops into Iris head precisely three hours after it happens. Until then, it’s just a funny thing to tell Barry once he gets home, one of those unusual, awkward situations everyone brings up when they’re trying to lighten the mood. Turns out that three hours later, though Iris still finds the whole thing hilarious, she considers a few hundred other possibilities of how that could’ve turned out. Cisco is cute, and their best friend, and something was definitely off about the way he reacted when she opened the door.

“Oh, geez, Iris, what the hell!” he yelled, and immediately covered his eyes. “Why would you answer the door if you’re not--  _ decent _ ?!”

“Oh my god.” 

She abruptly closed the door, picked up the hoodie she’d left on the couch and put it on.

“Sorry. I thought you were Barry,” she apologized once she opened the door again, laughing a little at the sight of Cisco still covering his eyes. She tapped his shoulder and he looked at her, very pointedly staring at her face.

“What-- Why-- How could it have been Barry knocking?! He  _ lives _ here!  _ With you _ !” 

Iris crossed her arms, still feeling exposed.

“I know, but we were, um, we were sort of playing a game.”

“A game?” Cisco asks, and a second later, it clicks. “ _ Ohhh _ , okay. Ha, yeah, so,” he pointed over his shoulder, “I’m just gonna-- I’m gonna go, then.”

“Wait, it’s everything okay? Why did you come here?”

“Nothing. No reason.”

“You didn’t come all the way here for nothing. Seriously, you know you can tell me. Is everything alright?”

“Yep. Uh, hey, listen, are we still on for Friday?”

“Yeah, ‘course. And you don’t have to bring anything by the way, we’ve got it covered.”

“No, c’mon, I’ll bring something. Maybe one of my abuela's dishes you guys love so much. I’ll text you on my way over, okay? Now I must be going. And sorry for, well, whatever that was.”

“It’s fine,” Iris smiles. “See you later, Cisco.”

Through the peephole, she watches Cisco leave and once he’s gone, she laughs so hard her eyes water.

 

Three hours later, when Iris is more than satisfied and hers and Barry’s game is over, she chuckles, remembering the whole thing. 

Bear smiles at her, looking sedated and just a moment away from falling asleep.

_ Cisco’s not gonna look me in the face throughout the whole week _ , Iris thinks about mentioning, and then doesn’t. Barry didn’t think it was that funny, but much like Cisco did when she answered the door, he flustered when she told him about their best friend seeing her in her underwear. That raises a few questions inside Iris mind and though anyone’s normal route of thinking could point to heartbreak, her thoughts race to another conclusion. It was always going to be Barry and Iris, in every universe throughout the cosmos, and right here on this particular one they’ve finally found each other. Iris wouldn’t change what they have for anything, and she knows Barry wouldn’t either. He's very… attached to her, to put it lightly, so his reaction when she told him what happened surprised her. If it had been anyone else, he would've been upset.  As that wasn't the case, what pops into her head isn’t much of an issue as it is a slight complication, mostly because she doesn’t know to even begin to approach the subject in a way that doesn’t sound weird, or just plain wrong. The last thing she wants is to hurt him -- or Cisco, for that matter.

She kisses Barry goodnight and sighs at the thought of it all. Apparently, they’re happily married and now simultaneously crushing on their best friend.

 

* * *

It sort of happens again a few days later. 

At S.T.A.R. Labs, they end up half naked and pressed up against each other on Cisco’s desk, of all places. It’s not planned, the way they kiss and laugh and touch one another over it, slow and steady, they both being as careful as possible to not break anything.

Barry is doing his best to keep quiet, holding Iris’ hips firmly. She murmurs encouragements, and grins when he groans, hides his face on her neck.

Things are going great, really great, and Iris is so hot and bothered she almost suggests they lock the place up to have their fun in every possible surface.

“Iris,  _ oh my god _ , I don’t think--”

“Shh, it’s okay, Bear,” she nibbles at his ear, crosses her ankles to keep him closer, “Do it.”

Barry comes then, his whole body shivering.

 

Only a millisecond later, Cisco walks in, shrieks and walks back out. From the corridor, he yells, “For God’s sake, guys! This is a work environment! A family-friendly work environment!”

“Sorry!” says Iris, still breathless and trying to not burst into laughter. She adjusts her skirt while Barry quickly buttons up his jeans. He’s blushing a little, but he fixes the strap of her bra and places a kiss on the corner of her mouth, so she knows he’s not  _ that _ sorry. 

“You can come on in, Cisco,” Barry says. His voice is rough and his eyes sparkle the way it always does when he looks at her. Iris wants to kiss him again but refrains from it; there'll be plenty of time to do that later.

Cisco leans into the room but doesn’t take a step past the door. “I’m just gonna say this once because we’re friends and I get that you’re, like, super into each other. So, see that thing?" He moves his head in the general direction of the desk, "That right there is where I  _ work _ and I would appreciate if you could follow the _basic_ rule of,” his voice escalates, “Not having sex all over it!”

Iris looks at him with sympathy, because more than a bit embarrassed, she can’t help but also feel a bit like an asshole. Good friends indeed don’t have sex on someone’s work station, where very important tech inventions are cluttered, unless they were, secretly, wishing to invite said friend to the fun. Which Iris is pretty sure they are but, not the point. 

“We know,” intervenes Barry, scratching the back of his neck. “It just kinda… Happened. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing."

"Don’t worry," Iris adds, "It won’t happen again. We promise.”

Cisco takes an hesitant step further, his arms crossed. He scoffs, "Let's hope not.”

 

Once they leave, Cisco stays away from his desk, his chair. He can’t deal with whatever it is that’s making his chest ache. He scrubs both hands down his face, asks himself how is this his life. 

He tries to get rid of the picture of Barry and Iris entangled now marked in his brain, but it’s no use. They’re gonna be the death of him, and that’s it. There’s nothing he can do.


End file.
